Jan-Feb 2014

Happy 41st.... 31 years with diabetes.  I am certainly glad that the hat is covering the bald spot. Other than that, all is pretty much going well.

Well the pictures pretty much speak for themselves.  Its been a good start to the new year.  Its been snowy and we've had a lot of snow days... which I totally should have been catching up on school stuff, but I haven't had my mind on school much.  Its been a good family time, a time to return to what matters.  I have been caving with Jason a fair amount and I have really found a new passion.  Surveying caves at a slow, deliberate pace... sometimes in cold water, sometimes in serious discomfort, sometimes in awfully tight spaces, always muddy, sometimes on very slippery slopes, ... is a remarkably peaceful and joyful time.  The heavy stillness underground is just so comforting... when inside the Earth, the "world" just fades into the dark silence.  To make it even more amazing, I get to learn to survey from a true pro and we can spend decades exploring caves within minutes of our home.  The other night we pushed a few hundred feet of amazing virgin passage that was actually 5 minutes from my house.  If you want to see more of that go to Walker Mountain Grotto's blog - the Tunnel.
Just an example of survey data - not mine

Here is the reason for the post.  We finally made the commitment for the DEXCOM.  For those insulin-producers among us, the Dex is a constant glucose monitoring system.  Adia has been riding the roller coaster recently and has been getting low at night - that was the deciding factor.  So nice to be able to see how she is trending and to not have to stick her finger at least once in the middle of the night.  I am generally not one to embrace technology, but this one is a life saver.

Above ground, life continues to amaze me.  The kids are doing great.  Adia is now on the Dexcom and our concept of being a diabetic has changed again... for the better, I think.   Adia seems to love it - though having a sensor on her is not my thing.... but I don't always know best.  Last night she dropped twice... the Dex woke us up when she was 80 and we treated quick and went back to sleep.  The second one was at 6am so not that big a deal.  Its quite a pricey bit of equipment, but I am thinking that it is worth it.  Still in our honeymoon period though.  So reports will follow.

First time - 4 Ahns on a quad lift... it was really pretty sweet.

I took the kids to go ski the other day - and for the first time ever, ALL THE KIDS WERE SKIING ON THEIR OWN.  Wow.  Time goes on and kids do grow up.  The only bad thing is that now that I am almost able to go off on my own at the slope but I might be getting too old to do dumb stuff:)  Actually I can still do dumb stuff, I just can't heal from it anymore:)  We had a big snow and so we also had a bunch of fun around the house - here is a quick video of two of my passions... my kids and caving....



We butchered our steer recently.. and by "we" I mean Ash and I... just us.  It was quite a circle of life thing to have raised a cow, and been close to it, and to recognize its personality... to then end that life.  Everything went perfect, but it was still emotionally difficult.  However, it reinforced my personal philosophy that there is value in being actually connected to what we eat.  I built the hanging room and we butchered it up ourselves at a reasonable pace... even had quite a great cutting party and cookout with Eric H and Lori P and her kids.  It was a great experience - something I never thought possible until we did it.





I continue to learn lessons and to recognize aspects of myself that I never gave light to.  Ashley and I continue to connect in ways I never could have imagined... to discover someone that I thought I knew so well is a true gift (though I haven't figured out if I am referring to Ash or myself - doesn't matter that much, though, the result is the same)  Its quite a lot like caving.  When it seems like one is at the end of a passage, air is felt coming from a very uncomfortable place.  The decision is made to go forward or to back out.... and after some digging and struggling and crushing weight on your chest, you make it through to a place you suspected existed but had no idea how to get there... and then it just keeps going, more amazing and beautiful the deeper you go....


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